Angelidis, Hoggan named All-Star captains

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … American Hockey League President and Chief Executive Officer David Andrews announced today that Syracuse Crunch forward Mike Angelidis and Grand Rapids Griffins forward Jeff Hoggan will serve as playing captains for the 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic, to be held January 31 and February 1 in Syracuse, N.Y.

Captains for the American Hockey League All-Star teams are selected by the league president in recognition of their outstanding leadership and service.

Mike Angelidis is in his 10th professional season in 2015-16, and fourth as captain of the Syracuse Crunch. The 30-year-old native of Woodbridge, Ont., has appeared in 605 regular-season games in his AHL career, totaling 121 goals and 132 assists for 253 points and posting at least 10 goals and 100 penalty minutes in eight straight seasons from 2007-15. Angelidis, who captained the Norfolk Admirals to a Calder Cup championship in 2012 and returned to the Finals with the Crunch in 2013, has also skated in 14 career NHL games with Tampa Bay. Angelidis will be making his AHL All-Star Classic debut.

A 14th-year pro now in his fourth season as captain of the Grand Rapids Griffins, Jeff Hoggan has skated in 653 regular-season AHL games, registering 163 goals and 159 assists for 322 points. The 37-year-old native of Hope, B.C., has won two Calder Cup championships in his career, with Houston in 2003 and with Grand Rapids in 2013, and was the 2014-15 recipient of the AHL’s Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award for sportsmanship, determination and dedication to hockey. Hoggan has also appeared in 107 career games in the National Hockey League with St. Louis, Boston and Phoenix. This will be Hoggan’s first AHL All-Star Classic.

Tickets for the two-day 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic are on sale now. Ticket prices range from $40-60 and can be purchased either in person at the Syracuse Crunch office located in the War Memorial Arena at 800 South State Street in Syracuse, by calling (315) 473-4444 or through all Ticketmaster outlets.

The 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Jan. 31 will keep its traditional format, with All-Stars from the Eastern Conference squaring off against All-Stars from the Western Conference in seven skills events.

The 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Challenge will take place on the evening of Feb. 1. Instead of a traditional 60-minute game, the AHL’s All-Stars will be divided into four teams, one representing each of the league’s divisions (Atlantic, North, Central, Pacific). The teams will then play a round-robin tournament featuring six games of nine minutes each; the first half of each game will be played at 4-on-4, and the second half at 3-on-3. The two teams with the best records at the end of the round-robin tournament will face off for the championship, a six-minute game played at 3-on-3.

In operation since 1936 and celebrating its 80th-anniversary season in 2015-16, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 88 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the 14th year in a row, more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2014-15.